Beta Acid

I love cooking. I cook a lot at home, I love trying new things, and I’m constantly coming across recipes I want to make.

But for a long time, finding a great recipe rarely meant I’d actually cook it.

It would be on a website I stumbled across or in an Instagram post I saved during a break. I’d think, “I should make that,” then carry on with my day.

By the time I was planning meals for the week, I’d forgotten where it was. Or forgotten about it entirely. That’s a big reason why I built Spiceful. I wanted a way to take those recipes all the way from “that looks so YUM” to tonight’s dinner.

The work begins before you turn on the stove

When you’re busy, making dinner involves more than finding time to cook. You have to decide what to make, find the recipes, work out what you already have, and put together a grocery list.

I actually enjoy meal planning. I like heading into the week knowing what I’m going to cook. But combining recipes can get messy quickly.

One uses grams. Another uses ounces. Another measures the same ingredient in cups. Now you’re doing calculations just to figure out how much to buy.

Spiceful brings recipes, meal planning, and grocery lists together and makes those different measurement units easier to manage. It helps turn a collection of things I’d like to cook into a plan I can follow.

Then there’s the cooking itself

I’ve spent plenty of time in the kitchen replaying the same section of an Instagram video, trying to catch what happens next.

Or switching between websites, scrolling down to the instructions, then back up because I’ve forgotten how much of something I need.

It interrupts something I otherwise really enjoy. Not to mention the endless smears on my screen afterwards.

In Spiceful’s cook mode, I can highlight the step I’m on and cross off ingredients as I use them. I can see where I am and what I’ve already added.

Small things, but when something’s on the stove and there are three ingredients on the counter, they make a difference. Everything is in one place, so I can keep moving through the recipe.

Bringing the idea to life with Beta Acid

I’m fortunate to have an idea I’m passionate about and a team at Beta Acid that can build it.

I handled the design process myself, from beginning to end, using Claude. Getting there was far from straightforward. It took iteration, working through details, and figuring out how to communicate what I wanted. But Claude helped me get through that process and turn the experience I had in mind into designs I could hand over to my team.

Then the team built Spiceful to the specifications I gave them. Seeing those designs become a working product, one I could actually use in my own kitchen, has been incredibly rewarding.

Help us shape what comes next

We’re constantly adding new features to Spiceful. Here’s what we’re working on:

• Household access launching this week.
• What can I cook? Take photos of what you have and Spiceful will match it to recipes. Less thinking, more cooking. Launching next week.
• Party planning coming in November, so you can select recipes and Spiceful builds out the grocery list and cooking plan. From defrosting that turkey to putting dessert on the table.

I’d love to hear from people who are trying to fit home cooking into busy lives.

What would make cooking at home easier and more enjoyable for you?

Curious?

Spiceful is available to try! www.getspiceful.com